I am having such a shitty day. My husband is away on a business trip, which is thankfully a rare occurrence because 1) I miss him, and 2) I have to serve as sole child, dog and chicken wrangler, gardener, chauffeur and egg and vegetable collector in his absence.
To add to the unhappy mélange, I’ve got an electrician poking about the breaker boxes trying to figure out why the air conditioner isn’t working. (The A/C people have come and gone after indicating it’s an electrical problem.) Luckily, we’re enjoying mild weather at the moment, so at least I’m not hot and miserable PLUS looking at a bill that is already around $600.
The electrician keeps coming up to me with dusty metal parts and trying to explain why the bill is climbing into the stratosphere, and I nod politely, but the truth is it might as well be sorcery as far as I’m concerned. I am utterly clueless about that shit.
Anyone have any good cocktail recipes to share? Those involving tequila or vodka are especially welcomed.
Also, since I missed John’s thread last night about crappy actors, allow me to agree wholeheartedly with Rikyrah that Helen Hunt is over-hyped. I’ll take it further and assert that she is flat-out dreadful.
In that thread, some of y’all were ripping on actors whose range runs from comatose to somnambulant, and I agree with many of your criticisms (Andie MacDowell – dear god, why?). But even actors with a bad case of flat affect can serve as a May pole around which the rest of the cast dances.
Helen Hunt is much worse than them because she actively ruins movies. I read the book “Then She Found Me” years ago and thought it was a light, cute, fun little story. I noticed the title on Netflix awhile back and thought I’d watch the movie version, overcoming my strong misgivings when I saw Helen Hunt’s name in the cast list. Well, in less than 10 minutes, thanks to Helen Hunt, I decided that I rather munch on a roll of tinfoil than watch another second.
Oh, and Doctor Who fucking ROCKS. I pity those of you who can’t appreciate the genius of that series. The end.
schrodinger's cat
Totally agree with you about Helen Hunt. Dr Who?
Professor
Cheer Up. Keep Calm And Carry On!
cleek
tequila and Squirt is awesome. tequila and Jones pink grapefruit is also great. in either case, add lime juice for even more citrussssy wang, OJ for more sweetness, or a touch of Chambord for a little depth.
Dr. Who = extreme meh.
BGinCHI
Thank you for breaking the seal on the Helen Hunt Hate. She is so terrible. Ever since she was in that awful show with Paul Reiser where he cut his own balls off each episode while she whined about how hard her life was I have been unable to tolerate her.
Jim Brown was a better actor than her.
Please also to keep Renee Zellweger and Sandra Bullock the hell away from me.
Surprisingly good actor? Dwight Yoakum.
reflectionephemeral
Truer words were never spoken than your comments about Helen Hunt. I think there were like 3 movies released concurrently around 2001 that all posited Helen Hunt as the embodiment of awesomeness– “What Women Want”, “Dr. T and the Women”, and… something else. It was really alienating.
“Dr. T and the Women” was unwatchably awful, but that was much more Altman’s fault than Helen Hunt’s. I think she was in a Woody Allen movie around then, too, horrible because of Allen not her.
I really like some latter-day Woody Allen, though. “Deconstructing Harry” is unbelievably good, and pretty much no one ever talks about it.
Ok guys, that’s what I’m thinking about, guess I better get back to work on this paper due in a couple hours now…
ETA: After adding this, that is, in response to BGinCHI. Some critic wrote around 15 years ago that Renee Zellweger’s idea of acting was making cute faces.
agorabum
Cocktail, Tequila:
2 oz Tequila
1 tsp of Maraschino liqueur
1 egg white
1/2 lime 1/2 lemon
sweetner (agave syrup or sugar / simple syrup) – how much depends on how sweet you want it
bitters (peychad’s is good, mole is good, as is lavender)
-combine all but bitters into a cocktail shaker, give it a few “dry shakes” to foam the egg whites, then add ice and shake well for 10-15 seconds. strain (can add more ice if its hot out) and apply bitters to foam on top.
Depending on what you have laying around the house, you can swap out the Maraschino with grenadine, cassis, or even orange liqueur (like a more traditional marg). Or whatever is gathering dust in your liquor cabinet. Does butterscotch schnaps work? Beats me, but worth a try.
Jay C
A little early in the season, but I’ll be happy to provide my usual summer Margarita recipe:
Jay C’s 3-2-1 Margarita:
3 measures tequila
2 measures bottled margarita mix (unsweetened if you can find it)
1 measure = half Triple Sec, half Rose’s Lime Juice (NB: must use Rose’s)
Combine above (glass, pitcher, whatever: recipe easily scales up/down), serve over ice, drink.
Litlebritdifrnt
Dr. Who does indeed rock Betty but I can understand why people don’t think so. I mean I grew up with it (and have to admit I am loving the retrospectives and old time episodes that BBC America is doing once a month.)
I’m also with you on the electrickery thing, I can do much of the repair work around the house but I won’t touch anything that has to do with wiggly amps. I have no desire to end up shriveled up and crispy hanging from a ceiling fan.
BTW Betty did you see this?
http://www.crittersbybritty.com/2013/05/01/its-not-easy-being-green/
I thought about you the minute I saw the little dude in the hanging basket.
Cassidy
Doctor Who is horrible. I’d rather watch a Highlander tv marathon focusing on nothing but that dreadful girlfriend of his, followed by the entire season(s) of Two Broke Girls than watch another episode of a mostly immortal individual spend 30 mins looking baffled while his chosen companions pull of this weeks stupid human tricks.
rikyrah
Bathing in the Helen Hunt commiseration.
I kept on watching movie upon movie and I couldn’t take it anymore. I honestly will not watch anything with her in it, no matter the size of her role.
jayjaybear
No catalog of wooden actors would be complete without Michael O’Hare. The first season of Babylon 5 had more wood than a primeval forest because of him.
ant
tequila you say? why yes, I like to drink that stuff.
Here is what I do;
In a shaker glass, combine a good healthy pour of tequila with ice, and equal parts lemon aid and freshly squeezed orange juice. Then shake, and pour over some more ice.
yum.
I use 100% agave tequila that costs about 27-30$ a handle.
Grapefruit can and should be subbed for the oranges, and orange liqueur makes its way in the shaker sometimes.
enjoy.
lamh35
@BGinCHI: no u didn’t, I love me some Sandy Bullock (in her rom-com fare only). I also have a soft spot for all her support of NOLA schools (particularly Warren Easton High School).
BGinCHI
I’d like to add that Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo are two of my very favorites.
If you haven’t seen Lonergan’s “You Can Count on Me,” please do so soon.
lamh35
um yeah, I’m no geek, but this gave me NERD-gasms…lol.
Leonard Nimoy vs Zachary Quinto (Spock vs Spock…lol)
http://youtu.be/WPkByAkAdZs
Jebediah
Sorry about your electrical woes. Especially sucks when you don’t know much about something – makes it hard to not be suspicious about being taken for a ride.
Would it help if I took the pups out for a long, long walk?
BGinCHI
@rikyrah: “The Sessions” is still good, perhaps because watching her do it with a dude who spends his life in an iron lung seems so appropriate.
Certified Mutant Enemy
@cleek:
Dr. Who = extreme meh.
Unmutual!
BGinCHI
@lamh35: This is like arguing that Justin Timberlake’s music is great because he is funny on SNL.
I’m glad she’s a nice lady though.
eemom
I didn’t see the other thread so maybe it was covered already, but omfg, the worst actor in the history of acting is the equally despicable godfather of gunfuckery, Charlton Heston.
ant
vodka you say? why yes, I like to drink that stuff.
Here is what I do;
In a shaker glass, combine a good healthy pour of vodka, with ice, and freshly squeezed orange juice. Then dribble out a little red stuff in there out of the cherry/grenadine jar Then shake, and pour over some more ice.
yum.
I use Tanqueray Sterling Vodka.
Grapefruit can and should be subbed for the oranges, and orange liqueur makes its way in the shaker sometimes.
enjoy.
lamh35
@lamh35: I freely admit to being soley a Star Trek: TNG fan, so excuse me for asking, but did the writers of the movie pull the whole Spock and Uhura love plot line from thin air, are was there some relationship history from the series with them
BGinCHI
@eemom: The exception is “Touch of Evil.”
But I think that works because Welle’s has CH mostly play himself if he were a Mexican policeman.
jeffreyw
Grilled corn on the cob is awesome. Grilled portobellos are to fucking kill for. That is all.
Mandalay
@reflectionephemeral:
That’s Erin Burnett’s idea of reporting too. But Erin also tilts her head, leaves a couple of her blouse buttons undone, squints, and purses her lips in a half smile, all at the same time.
Is Renee Zellweger as good as Erin at pretending to be someone else?
Alison
Agreed about Helen Hunt. I don;t hate her or anything, but she’s one where when people say they *like* her, I’m just like…why? Really, what are the reasons for liking her as an actor?
And I’d never even thought about it in the context you mention, about her bringing movies down, but you’re right.
So who might be some opposite Helen Hunts? Off the top of my head, I’d say Toni Collette – love her in everything I’ve seen her in, and I feel like she makes so-so movies better by her participation.
lamh35
@BGinCHI: oh no, can’t stand JT. Never could. I’m more of a Robin Thicke/Jon B fan (look em up) when it comes to my blue-eyed soul.
Can’t stand the dude.
Sandra is a saint, as saint I tell ya…lol
But I really do like her as a Rom-Com actress. Loved The Proposal and can’t wait for her and Melissa McCarthey in “The Heat”
http://youtu.be/ahGnefZTdq4
Certified Mutant Enemy
@lamh35:
Mostly from think air. This version of Star Trek exists in a corrupted timeline, so almost anything fair game.
scav
@lamh35: Not obsessive ST here either, but I had the impression that was some timey-wimey Jiggery-Pokery Parallel-Universe invention. But seriously, given the option of Spock and Kirk, especially in this parallel? Please. Vulcan and Infinite Diversity for the win.
gogol's wife
On a positive note, James Stewart is probably the greatest screen actor who ever lived. Roger Livesey is also a marvel.
I like Renee Zellweger in “Bridget Jones’s Diary” but have not seen her in anything else other than the first 45 minutes of Empire Records.
I used to like Jeremy Piven mildly, but his performance on Mr. Selfridge is a kind of parody of bad acting, and I don’t think it’s intentional.
I’m having trouble thinking of any really bad actresses.
Meg
@BGinCHI: At least Zellweger managed her British accents to fool a bunch of Brits though.
Mnemosyne
@BGinCHI:
I liked Renee Zellweger in Chicago since she was supposed to come across as shallow, evil, and soulless. She really seemed to fit the role.
The Pale Scot
So did anyone watch Broadchurch?
Not sure if it was on in the US, but it should come out on DVD soon.
Tonybrown74
It is difficult to focus on actors that I believe are horrid. Totally agree with Charlton Heston. And who the f*ck did Hayden Christiansen blow to get an acting gig? His “talents” must be legendary, since I cannot figure out HOW he was allowed anywhere near the front of a camera.
That said, I think two of the most underrated actors around are Toni Collette and Jeffrey Wright. They are stellar.
Darkrose
I’m having a weird pie-filter problem. It works fine with T&H, but if I add MoeLarryandAsshat, it doesn’t seem to take. It shows on my list, but nothing actually gets pied so I have to see his rabid drooling all over my nice clean browser.
Turgidson
Simple margarita recipe that consistently gets compliments, despite being, well, you know, simple. I’ve always found store-bought margarita mix to be gross and overly sweet. If fresh limes are on-hand, there’s no need for it.
2 parts Tequila, preferably of at least middling quality.
1 part Contreau/Grand Marnier if you have it – but that shit’s expensive so I often don’t – triple sec if you don’t, but use a less if it’s cheap triple sec.
Juice from one lime
splash of orange juice, a little more if using cheap triple sec
pinch of salt. salt the rims if preferred, but I don’t bother.
If sweetness is desired, agave syrup or a little bit of sugar/simple syrup can be added.
Shake, serve on the rocks.
lamh35
@gogol’s wife: yeah, other than the Bridget Jones movies and Chicago, I’m not much a fan of Renee’s movies.
I didn’t totally hate that “Down With Love” movie with Ewan McGregor, but then again, I can’t say that I love it either
gelfling545
I love the Doctor. I’m having a great time watching with my granddaughter & rediscovering episodes that I watched before her mother was born. Even for a time lord he’s held up well.
MomSense
I agree that Helen Hunt is awful–really atrocious because she absolutely destroys the performances of the other actors. The other one that is terrible is Angelina Jolie. The worst accent and acting job I have ever seen was Alexander. Painful.
Trollhattan
@Mandalay:
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
Amir Khalid
Me, I’ve always found Nicole Kidman somewhat overrated. Being a Great Beauty rather gets in the way of her acting. Wearing that fake nose in The Hours helped a bit, by making her beauty less of a distraction; but it revealed only that she is a decent actress, rather than a great one.
jh
A list of bad actors and no one mentions Channing Tatum?
The guy is a department store mannequin.
Rosalita
@BGinCHI:
I HATE that smushy thing Zellweger does with her mouth… and yeah she pretty sucks.
cckids
@Mnemosyne:
She did, tho I admit my visceral dislike of her as an actress makes it difficult to give her any credit. I remember seeing an interview with her when Chicago came out. She was talking about filming the “They Both Reached for the Gun” song, about how when she read the script she couldn’t figure out what they were talking about WRT the ventriloquist “act”, and how utterly confusing it was to her. She came across as being dumber than dirt (as my from-the-sticks mom used to say).
Tonybrown74
@jh:
Contest: who is more wooden? Channing, or Hayden Christiansen?
muddy
@lamh35: I just came rushing in to post that! Best thing I’ve seen all day.
Mandalay
A poster on a thread last night was arguing that Charles Ramsay, the guy who broke down the door and freed Amanda Perry, wasn’t really a hero at all…he was only doing what a lot of other people would have done in that situation.
Well the poster got pilloried, but that thread made me notice this superficially innocuous comment by the deputy chief of police, Ed Tomba:
Now why would Tomba (who is white) go out of his way to call Berry “the real hero”? It’s as though he’s suggesting that there is someone else, a black neighbor, being portrayed as a hero, but that is really not the case!
Maybe I am reading too much into his words, and I have only seen the words in print (video might give some context), but it seemed such an odd and unnecessary thing to say.
cckids
@lamh35: That is too funny. Hopefully it will make it to TV; it deserves to.
MomSense
@gogol’s wife:
I really, really wanted to like Mr. Selfridge but I couldn’t even get through the first episode. I kept thinking he was like an over the top Willy Wonka and not in a good way.
SatanicPanic
@Tonybrown74: I’m only basing my opinion on Hayden on Star Wars, so I could be totally wrong here, buuuuut, maybe it was the awful script he had to deal with? I mean, there was no good acting in any of the prequels. Maybe the guy who played Palpatine.
TooManyJens
@lamh35: There were a number of people, including Nichelle Nichols, who thought original Spock and Uhura had chemistry, but they didn’t have an on-screen relationship.
kerFuFFler
I can’t stand Gwyneth “Paltry”. I remember when during a flight they showed the movie Contagion. At first I was disappointed that she was in it, but then her character died early in the plot. As they were pulling the flesh from her skull during the autopsy, I thought, “Works for me!”
But I had underestimated the degree to which flashbacks figured in the narrative…
muddy
@MomSense: I thought maybe he was going for “old-timey”, I can’t believe they let him carry on like that. I wonder what the real Selfridge was like, maybe he was exactly like that, and really it’s an Emmy award performance? Probably not.
jl
Just make the old man take the chickens with him when he goes on a trip. That will teach him.
Since this is an open thread, and since Heritage Foundation ‘economic analysis’ has been in the news, Menzie Chinn at Econbrowser has a nice post on how they get their results.
Heritage Assesses the Ever-Expanding Ever-Centralizing Federal Government Sector
http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2013/05/heritage_assess.html
Hint: if post office workers mess up the desired conclusion, decide that that they are not part of the government sector.
Threadkiller
Late to the party, but:
Uncle Bert’s margarita recipe (printed on his funeral program)
1 can minute maid limeade concentrate
1+ can tequila (Cuervo gold)
1/3 can triple sec
Lots of unsweetened lime juice
Mix in a pitcher, add to ice in blender
Central Planning
Drinks? How about old school, like a sidecar or a mai-tai?
dmsilev
@SatanicPanic:
Ian McDiarmid. He’s mainly a stage actor (I saw him not all that long ago at Chicago Shakespeare, and the whole Star Wars thing was one line tucked in the middle of a long biography).
BGinCHI
Three of the most underrated actors working today:
Jim Broadbent
Tom Wilkinson
Richard Jenkins (if you haven’t seen “The Visitor” please do so)
rikyrah
@Mandalay:
you aren’t reading too much into it all.
you’re reading EXACTLY what’s there.
nellcote
So if a person was Dr. Who-curious, where does one start? Aren’t there different versions?
lamh35
@TooManyJens: ah, sure I get that. I’m also not surprised it never came to pass back at that time. Wasn’t it a big deal ’cause she and Shatner kissed or something?
I remembering reading something about it.
Ben Cisco
Condolences on your terrrible, horrible, no good day.
Definitely with you on Doctor Who, too.
raven
All booze all the time today huh?
Tonybrown74
@SatanicPanic:
I saw him in two other forgettable movies (on late night cable), and he is equally as wooden in those films. Just horrid!
David Hunt
@lamh35: In some early first season episodes you get some scenes were the crew is relaxing Spock and Uhura are playing some music together and such. They seemed to establish that they socialized together.
Central Planning
@nellcote:
My two oldest heard about Doctor Who so we decided to start watching with them – we started with the 2005 season (I think that’s when it started again) with Christopher Eccelston.
I still have Tom Baker stuck in my mind as the Doctor. Too much as a kid I guess :)
kerFuFFler
O wait, I forgot all about Andie MacDowell! Christ, is she awful. It’s too bad she is in Groundhog Day.
Jebediah
@Mandalay:
Yeah, why say “real hero” unless you are implying someone else isn’t?
Although I also get your point about seeing video. Maybe it came across differently than it does in print.
jl
@rikyrah:
The statement as reported seemed odd to me too, and I wondered why the rescuer’s role seemed diminished. I read reports that others noticed women banging on windows in the house in years past, but apparently the neighbors who noticed that did nothing, or not much.
But, then, I’m not sure what else that the chief said that was not reported in the story. Maybe it was just an editorial choice to put the women’s plight front and center.
becca
@MomSense:we watch Mr.Seilridge in spite of Piven, who seems miscast to me. The sets and costuming are reason enough, but the feel of the times is captured beautifully, too.
Plus, it’s on after Call The Midwife, which is wonderful.
gelfling545
@Mandalay: Mr. Ramsey could well have chosen not to get involved, particularly as he originally believed it to be a domestic disturbance, an area in which even cops hesitate. I’m sure the 3 young women see him as a hero.
Amir Khalid
@dmsilev:
McDiarmid is a holdover from the original trilogy. He’s Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi. In the Special Edition re-release of The Empire Strikes Back, Lucas replaced the hologram image of the original actor who played the Emperor with McDiarmid.
Violet
Andie McDowell is the worst one for me. I will never watch any movie she’s in again. I even detest her in those hair color commercials. Nails on a chalkboard, her voice is for me.
Helen Hunt is awful too. How the hell did she ever win an Oscar? Can’t imagine how she could embody anything men want. Thin lips, whiny voice, blank face, not enough anything else to make up for any of that. Just why?
Mike in NC
@rikyrah: The Sessions was pretty creepy. On a positive note, Helen Hunt doesn’t currently have a TV show, but Anne Heche is getting one.
jl
@jl: Another angle is that the chief’s department isn’t looking too good, if reports are true that the police had been to the house several times on reports of unusual activity and didn’t do much.
The rescuer specifically mentioned that he was thinking it might be a domestic abuse situation, and thought that was enough to kick in a door.
The local police apparently had multiple reports on the place, and they just showed up, knocked and went on their way.
The chief might have several motives for not wanting to talk about how the rescue came about.
Kent
Gwyneth Paltrow, Melanie Griffith, Kristin Stewart, and Kate Hudson make pretty much any movie unwatchable for me.
For actors, anything with Adam Sandler, Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis, or Kevin Costner
TooManyJens
@lamh35: Oh yeah, it was a huge deal. Supposedly they tried to do two different takes, one that clearly showed Uhura and Kirk kissing, and one that was a bit obscured, and Shatner fucked up the obscured one so that they would have to use the full-on kiss. I don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, it makes me like Shatner more.
Mandalay
@Jebediah:
Actually he called Amanda Berry “THE real hero”, meaning there was exactly one hero, and she was it – nobody else was a hero.
Hopefully a quote or video will emerge with the deputy police chief explicitly praising and thanking Charles Ramsay for what he did. If not, he can go fuck himself.
jl
@TooManyJens:
I think I remember Shatner claiming in an interview that he messed up the chickenshit take on purpose. For that is worth. Shatner is a semi-mythical folkloric character as far as I can tell, at least in his own mind, so not sure how to interpret what he says.
SatanicPanic
@Tonybrown74: That’s what I suspected, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Even Samuel L Jackson looked confused and annoyed with his lines in those movies.
And seconding everyone who says Helen Hunt sucks. Naomi Watts sucks too.
Shana
Vodka drink recipe you say? Here’s a recent fave from our house:
Limoncello Cocktail: 2 measures vodka (citrus if you have it), 1 measure limoncello, 1/2 measure simple syrup. Shake together over ice, strain and serve.
I made limoncello for the first time recently and we’re loving it.
MikeJ
Wigan is wiggin’.
SatanicPanic
@dmsilev: yeah, he was good. Everyone else was not, but I blame Lucas for most of those.
jl
@Mandalay:
If he doesn’t, then I agree. But as I said, it might not just be prejudice.
It seems odd to me that the police could get repeated reports of odd behavior at that house, with an unknown person or persons banging on stuff and yelling, and the police show up, knock on the door and walk off with a shrug. Seems to me that sooner or later this address would be noticed for a certain history.
I saw an interview the guy who rescued the girl. And his attitude seemed to be that if it might be a domestic abuse situation, of course you help out the victim. And that included damaging his BBQ and salsa music neighbor buddy’s property to see what was up.
Quite a contrast. This chief might have a couple of reasons for not wanting to say much about the rescue.
Trollhattan
Martina Navratilova gets the Politifact treatment.
http://wonkette.com/515444/politifact-why-is-martina-navratilova-lying-by-saying-all-these-true-things#MJFTjBcLred7Aj62.99
MomSense
@becca:
I do love Call the Midwife and Bletchley Circle.
lamh35
@jl: This whole think, just makes me realize, that I really need to learn more about my damn neighbors. You just NEVER know what is going on. It’s funny, cause being from NOLA, I remember growing up my family ALL lived in the same neighborhood some in adjacent courts other on the same street (Desire Housing Projects) but we knew all the neighbors and the families all grew up together. To this day, when my family or any of the people from the old neighborhood throws a party, damn near every damn person from the old neighborhood shows up. With the advent of social media and the internet, it’s funny that, IMHO, it seems people are actually less social than in the past, the person to person connection is not what it used to be. I mean you could live in the same neighborhood for years and NEVER meet your neighbor face to face, but have no idea what is going on in your own neighborhood.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/u-s-world/aunt-of-gina-dejesus-if-you-dont-believe-in-miracles-i-suggest-you-think-again
Violet
@jl: Heard on BBC news on the radio there were only two records in the police files associated with the guy who owned the house. The first was some sort off disturbance in the street. Police didn’t find anything. The other was when he left the kid on the bus and didn’t find him until the bus got to the depot. It was investigated and determined to be an accident. Were there more reports off problems with the house?
MomSense
@dmsilev:
My son recently told me about an article that suggests watching the Star Wars movies to music instead of with the sound. Hayden was godawful in those movies–but so was the dialogue. And is it just me or were the special effects more believable in the original episode IV than in the super, duper high tech episodes? Somehow I found the old models with strings and puppets superior to CGI.
Violet
Betty, the picture title is excellent.
Trollhattan
@jl:
Generally, officials try to say nothing that could screw up the investigation and later, the prosecution, which results in a lot of mushy non-statements. I’m not from Cleveland (darn all) and not in a position to judge what the dude said.
As a dad, I’m just happy as hell for those women and wish they had a way to reclaim their lost decade.
SatanicPanic
@MomSense: I thought so too, but then my wife was watching the prequels (having never watched any of the movies until well into adulthood) and said “finally, they made Yoda look realistic, instead of those cheap puppets.” I know, it didn’t get it either.
Mandalay
@jl:
I think you are right, and it looks like the damage control is already underway. This is what the Cleveland Public Safety Director said today:
But rule #1 of damage control is don’t tell demonstrable lies as part of the cover up. How about these incidents?…
Nothing to see here…move along!
I think the police may have some explaining to do as this unravels.
rikyrah
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Bletchley Circle
Thanks to whatever poster here turned me onto it.
Betty Cracker
@MomSense: OMG, everyone in “Alexander” should have their SAG card placed on probationary status. What an awful, horrible, atrocious movie. Angelina Jolie sucked big green gators in that, but so did everyone else, pretty much. What a waste, too, since it is an interesting story.
jl
@Violet:
@Trollhattan:
@Mandalay:
I’m happy for the women too.
All I know is that I heard a news report that said neighbors had seen and reported people banging on windows and making a fuss inside. Don’t know how much that was indifferent neighbors saying that they did more than is true.
But Mandaly’s link is consistent with news report I heard that there were at least several reports by neighbors of unusual activity inside the house.
Edit: But I also know that if I were a prisoner, even if I am a big male lunk, and I beat on windows and yelled for years, and the police showed up a few times, I would hope they would look around a bit. I mean, if there is domestic abuse, or some on is being held against their will, good chance they just might not answer the door even if something is wrong.
Edit2: And thnaks for link, Mandalay. I remember a clip of one neighbor complaining that he reported naked people doing something odd in backyard and nothing was done.
MomSense
@SatanicPanic:
When episode IV came out I saw it at a drive in on a starry night–it was like the whole sky was the film. Very cool it was!
MomSense
@Betty Cracker:
Thank you!!! Definitely one of the worst movies of all time!
MCA1
The “faith in humanity” bar in the upper lefthand corner of my game screen has gained three units today – two for Charles Ramsay, and one for the knowledge that the whole world hates Helen Hunt, not just me. Oh my god I hated “Mad About You” with a passion – since when are sitcoms supposed to be so fucking joyless? Worst television character ever. I see her on a screen and I want to punch people.
So, now I’ll say something nice about someone, to add to the list of actors/actresses who deserve more acclaim than they get, that others have started:
– Guy Pearce
– John Hawkes
– Claire Danes
– Joan Allen
– Casey Affleck
Va Highlander
Thank you!
Violet
@jl: Hopefully the truth will come out. The neighbors may want to portray themselves as doing more than they did because they’re so horrified this happened in their neighborhood. The police may be covering up their shoddy work. Or some of both. I hope if the police didn’t do their jobs, that it comes out and steps are taken to deal with it.
Thrilled for the girls and their families. What a horrible, horrible ordeal they went through. Happy endings are so unusual in these types of situations. So glad they got one.
Turgidson
@SatanicPanic:
I thought Ewan McGregor did his best with what he had to work with and was actually somewhat good in the third prequel. Hayden wasn’t done any favors with the script either, of course, but he was terrible independent of that. Wooden and awkward in most scenes, and then in what was supposed to be the most gripping scene of the entire 6-movie story (Obi Wan v Anakin), he just seemed like a fucking 9 year old who was told he had to go to bed without dessert. Just so awful.
JPL
The McDonald’s corporation has an appropriate tweet.
They might be corporate whores but I’m sure Ramsey will appreciate whatever.
Betty Cracker
@JPL: Good for McDs! I fear for Mr. Ramsey’s cholesterol level, but he should never pay for his own Big Mac again!
artem1s
@MCA1:
I’d like to add David Strathairn to your list. His performance in Lincoln, barely mentioned. I’ve loved him in almost everything I’ve ever seen. Obviously he got a lot of attention for Good Night and Good Luck but for some reason he gets overlooked in almost all his roles. One of my favorite was as Tom Cruise’s brother in The Firm. His 2-3 minutes on screen with Holly Hunter were sizzling.
Betty Cracker
Final tally on electrician’s tab: $750-plus. Figitty-fuck!
Thanks, everyone, for the cocktail suggestions. Thanks also for the knowledge that I’m not alone in thinking Helen Hunt is a horrible, dreadful, no-good actor. When I’ve expressed that opinion in real life, people are all like, “WHAT? She’s so awesome!”
Redshift
I cannot stand Will Ferrell. I have found him utterly unfunny since his SNL days, and while I obviously avoid movies starring him, if he’s a guest star in a movie it pretty much stops dead at the point when he appears. He does “look at me, I’m being Will Ferrell” regardless of what else the movie is about until he’s gone.
His GW Bush is the only entertaining thing he’s ever done. My opinion of him isn’t helped by the fact that much of the SNL cast since his day seems to have adopted his philosophy of “if a one-note joke isn’t very funny, repeating it for ten minutes will make it hilarious, right?”
jl
@Betty Cracker: From what I saw from his interview, Mr. Ramsey is direct and speaks his mind. Another reason for the authorities to avoid giving him attention.
I can imagine the topic coming up in an interview, about how these poor women could have been imprisoned for so long.
“The police? Do something? The police?”
I have no idea whether he would say that, but he seems like the kind of person who would.
It horrifies me to think about what those women went through. And how horrible it must have been for them to try and signal the neighbors for years, and nothing happened.
So, that woman was brave and a hero for taking every chance to signal and never giving up.
Mandalay
@Violet:
Yes indeed, though I don’t think it will be plain sailing. Perhaps some Stockholm Syndrome will emerge.
Let’s not forget that the (presumed) father of the six year old girl is probably going to prison for the rest of his life. Hopefully she is young enough to be able to forget, adjust and move on.
japa21
Betty,
Are they all lined up waiting for Mr. Cracker to come home?
Turgidson
@SatanicPanic:
Yoda actually looked absolutely horrible at times in the first prequel, before they made him CGI. It was weird, he looked dramatically less real than he had in the originals.
Then they CGIed him for Ep. II and he looked…well, ok, I guess, but not believable (especially since Gollum came along shortly after to make him look comparatively even worse). I thought he looked somewhat better in the last prequel, but still not realistic.
bah, enough about Star Wars movies I didn’t even like.
Shortstop
I refuse to see Then She Found Me because Helen Hunt is so gross. All of Elinor Lipman’s novels, on the other hand, are delicious.
Violet
@Redshift: I can’t stand Kristen Wiig. Never found her remotely funny on SNL and not since. Every character is just a variation on the same unfunny joke. Plus her voice makes my skin crawl.
lamh35
WHAT CHARLES RAMSEY AND AMANDA BERRY KNEW
POSTED BY AMY DAVIDSON
SatanicPanic
@Turgidson: I just mentioned that because I wonder how much of people’s perception of “real” changes over time.
Trollhattan
@jl:
Found this an odd statement: “Other neighbours in the working-class district said they did not realise anybody was living at the house at 2207 Seymour Ave.” –BBC
I live about halfway between where Jaycee Dugard was kidnapped and held captive, and mere miles from where Dorothea Puente planted the bodies in her yard over several years years, so at this point am willing to believe ANYTHING can be hidden in plain sight.
MCA1
@artem1s: Great call. He just exudes humanity and dignity onscreen.
the Conster
Chris Cooper. He’s in everything it seems, but he disappears into every role. He can play anything.
MomSense
@Turgidson:
Episode II had the Count Dooku vs. CGI Yoda fighting scene. It was the fakiest fakey fake looking scene of the whole series. I was sitting there watching it disgusted and then when the movie ended and the lights came on my boys were wildly discussing how much they loved it. Later there was reenactment featuring little kid sound effects which are second only to belly laughs for causing joy.
Jebediah
@MCA1:
When that show was on, I was younger and more naive, and assumed there must be something good about the show because smart people put a lot of effort and money into putting it on the air. Therefor, my opinion of it was clearly mistaken.
I now work in television (at a very, very low level) and would like to think I know better now.
SatanicPanic
@MomSense: That’s awesome. I miss the drive-in.
the Conster
@Redshift:
I thought so too about Will Ferrell, then I saw “Everything Must Go”, and I was kind of blown away. I kept waiting for him to go full metal Will Ferrell, but he stays away from it. Check it out.
Turgidson
@MomSense:
Totally agreed on the Dooku scene. I just burst out laughing in the theater when that started. My note that he looked better in Ep. 3 was based in large part on the fact that his fight with Palpatine, while still hilariously absurd, was much, much less ridiculous in the sense that Yoda didn’t quite look like a full-blown cartoon character.
Jebediah
@the Conster:
How did you like him in “Stranger than Fiction”?
Mandalay
@jl:
Indeed. The police must now either confirm or deny the neighbors’ allegations that they had visited the house in the past, but never entered it.
Either possibility bodes well for popcorn sales.
SatanicPanic
@the Conster: That was a good movie. Liked Laura Dern in that one too.
Kathleen
@rikyrah: And don’t forget that she won an Oscar for “As Good As It Gets”. And a few Emmy’s for that Paul Reiser show, the name of which totally escapes me. This discussion about crappy actors is quite cathartic. I thought I was the only one who just doesn’t “get” these overrated people.
Trollhattan
@the Conster:
Have to give it up for Ferrell and John C. Reilly in Talladega Nights. The saying grace scene when they go off on the tangent about which age Jesus to pray to had me on the floor.
Like many, many comic actors (talkin’ to you, Piven) Ferrell needs the right people to bounce off of, and a director’s sense when enough is enough.
I won’t address my Jim Carrey hatred at this point in time.
Redshift
@Violet: I don’t hate her like Ferrell, but I never got why she was so popular. I though some things she did on SNL were okay, but anything that was a repeating character with a schtick was horrible. Of course, that’s almost all I see when I happen to flip to the show for many years now.
NY Gov. David Patterson put it best when he went on to take down Fred Armison’s running unfunny mocking of his blindness: “Working in Albany is like watching ‘SNL’ – there are a lot of characters, it’s funny for 10 minutes, and then you just want it to be over.”
Calouste
@Kent:
Surprised it took 75 posts to bring up Bruce Willis. The problem with Bruce Willis is that he can only play one role, Bruce Willis.
the Conster
@Jebediah:
Haven’t seen it – better than Blades of Glory?
Redshift
@the Conster: Yeah, I’ve heard good things about that, though I haven’t seen it.
BGinCHI
@Trollhattan: Carrey is really good in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but otherwise, meh.
the Conster
@Trollhattan:
John C. Reilly is another overlooked and underrated actor. The guy can play stupid, clever, mean, and sweet.
SatanicPanic
@Trollhattan: Since Carrey has basically no career at this point it would feel like piling on. Same goes with Mike Myers.
Darkrose
@lamh35: There were some hints that they were at least friendly, but of course, given how many white folks lost their minds over “Plato’s Stepchildren a couple of seasons later, there was no way that they ever could have gone there.
geg6
@Cassidy:
Exactly. Stupidest show ever and the fact that people I like and respect otherwise are fanatics about it just makes me question why I like and respect them.
Helen Hunt doesn’t bother me. But that Twilight actress is the worst actress I ever had the misfortune to view. It wasn’t in Twilight that I saw her (I’d rather sleep with Rush Limbaugh than watch or read Twilight), but she sucked donkey balls in the half hour of whatever film I had the misfortune to catch her in.
Meanwhile, got my stitches out and was told to quit the pain meds and just take some ibuprofen. I feel like a new woman.
Darkrose
@Rosalita: OMG Yes!
We call her Renee Smushyface at our house.
Turgidson
@MCA1:
I have no beef with all the Helen Hunt Hate in this thread. I’ve never thought enough about her to hate her, but I’ve also never enjoyed her acting very much.
And also Mad About You-related – between that crappy show and his role in Aliens, Paul Riser is somewhere very high up on the “I might have to punch you in the face if I ever saw you in person” list*.
* well, he’d only be high on that list if prominent elected Republicans and GOP pundits/strategists/consultants were excluded.
Darkrose
@geg6: The first Twilight movie is fucking hilarious when watched with copious quantities of alcohol. I imagine it’s pretty good stoned, too.
NotMax
Nice brunch or sunset-on-the-lanai change from Bloody Mary is the Melonball.
Fill tall glass with ice cubes.
Pour 2 oz. Midori liqueur over ice
Pour 1 oz. (more if preferred) unflavored vodka over ice
Top with orange, pineapple or grapefruit* juice
Very gently give a quick stir
*If using grapefruit juice, adding just a teeny pinch of salt is optional
Doctor Who?
Labeling it “genius,” is like asserting the Sprouse brothers are the new Barrymores.
p.a.
Cocktail at a local rib joint: TrailerPark Mary. Bourbon and tomato-based BBQ sauce, glass rimmed with dry rub, served with a Slim Jim. Reads worse than it tastes.
the Conster
@Turgidson:
Add Richard Lewis to the “face that needs a fist in it”. His appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm are like chewing aluminum.
Darkrose
@SatanicPanic: Ewan McGregor tried, bless his heart. Liam Neeson was pretty clearly thinking, “Who wrote this shit?” with every line.
BGinCHI
@SatanicPanic: Loved the use of Mike Myers in that one little scene in Inglourious Basterds.
Jebediah
@the Conster:
Well, it’s a bit different. Not a slapstick pile of goofiness*. He plays a guy who is also a character in a book-in-progress, and what the author writes happens to him. He ends up figuring it out, finding her, and pleading to be left alone. The role is out of what I think of as his usual zone. I liked the movie and his performance. (Unlike Punch Drunk Love, where I liked Adam Sandler’s performance more than I liked the movie.)
*ETA: Not that there is anything wrong with slapstick goofiness – when it is done reasonably well, I like it a lot. And if you need a yardstick of my seriousness, I liked Elf.
Darkrose
I’m not a nuWho fan. I watched most of the Tom Baker and Peter Davison episodes when they used to run them on Channel 11 late at night, but I just couldn’t work up much enthusiasm for the recent stuff, especially with the way they handled poor Martha.
the Conster
@Jebediah:
I actually LOVE Elf. Weird, but he’s ridiculously good in that – sort of reminds me of Tom Hanks in Big, which I think is still his best role. I put Steve Martin in that category too – he can be the biggest goof ever, but he was special in All of Me. No one can do physical comedy like that anymore.
Jebediah
@p.a.:
Odd kind of praise…
Schlemizel
@Redshift:
His porn shooting undertaker in “Drowning Mona” was the only thing I ever saw him do that was funny. But he sure draws the kids.
@Jebediah: Have not seen that but heard a lot of good things about the movie & his role. Need to rent it I guess.
I thought Hunt played the damaged waitress in “As Good As It Gets” about as well as could be. That may have been because her ability perfectly suited the character.
NotMax
Speaking of bad acting, it’s nearly laugh out loud funny to watch/hear Mickey Rourke doing an obviously deliberate imitation of Snagglepuss in Barfly.
(Yes, I know the Snagglepuss voice and delivery were originally an
rip-offhomage based on Ed Wynn, but the ‘toon character moved beyond simple imitation to invest it with a soupcon of originality.)Darkrose
Am I the only one here who doesn’t care about Game of Thrones?
I read the first three books, and by the end of “Storm of Swords” I realized that I was skimming everything except the Arya chapters because I was either indifferent to or actively loathed most of the POV characters. I found the books a depressing slog where nothing good ever happens to anyone I like, and I realized that if I want that, I can read the news.
I thought about watching the series until my wife told me that she had to actively brace herself to be able to watch each episode.
quannlace
Tequila and vodka? A Long Island Iced Tea will take care of both.
********
Have no strong opinions of Doctor Who one way or another. Got into it when it first made an appearance here in the late 1970’s. Then in the 80’sit was everywhere on all the PBS channels. Then it went Pffft!
When I fall over it on BBCAmerica I have enjoyed it. But I don’t seek it out.
Baud
@Darkrose:
I didn’t make it past the first book, for much the same reason.
NotMax
@NotMax
Aaaaaaargh!
Bert Lahr, not Ed Wynn.
No excuse for that massive error other than just poured 1st cup of coffee of the day and still bleary.
Nora
artem1s, I agree with you about David Strathairn. I’ve loved him in everything he’s been in since Return of the Secaucus 7 (if you guys haven’t seen that movie, I heartily recommend it!).
Also agree about Chris Cooper. His performance in Lone Star was outstanding, and he had a lot of competition in that movie.
Gravenstone
@jayjaybear:
A friend of mine dubbed him Wooden T. Delivery.
scav
@Darkrose: The problem with poor Martha is she had to be the anti Rose. Cleaning up after Rose requied heavy lifting and a fair bit of time. RTD was very good at many things, but he did write his way into some blind alleys that had to be backed out of somehow. How many Dalek mass armies and Saving The Entire Planet Even BIGGER this year can one manage? Three seasons on and we’re finally able to have some comparitively cosy shows. Next show runner will take off in directions away from Moffett’s tics. And so it goes. If nothing else, John Nathan-Turner’s dress sense is something to be marveled at and then avoided (if somehow still remembered fondly on occasion).
NCSteve
I can’t drink tequila, because I’m male and, unlike most, I recognize that tequila + testosterone= Very Bad Things before the night is through. And I don’t drink vodka just because.
But what you really seem to need is a Painkiller, official drink of the Bahamas:
2-4 oz. of Pusser’s Rum (sounds like you need to go with 4)
4 oz. pineapple juice
1 oz. cream of coconut
1 oz. orange juice
Grated fresh nutmeg
AnnaN
I did this last year around here somewhere an ima do it again:
Glass half empty with crushed ice
Juice of a quarter lime
Equal parts ginger beer YES BEER, NOT ALE and Kraken rum YES KRAKEN AND NOTHING ELSE.
Mix.
Sip.
Enjoi de vivre.
Shana
@Nora: Nora, totally with you about David Strathairn and “Return of the Secaucus 7.” A much better movie than “The Big Chill” which only had it’s soundtrack to recommend it. The characters in Secaucus 7 are so much more real, the low key, and I presume, low budget production values, everything about that movie charmed me, and still did when I watched it a couple of years ago.
gogol's wife
@Calouste:
In Nobody’s Fool, Bruce Willis actually acts. It is quite astounding. I don’t know why he forgets to do so in all his other movies.
NotMax
@gogol’s wife
A similar case is William Hurt doing real acting in place of his usual shtick in Dark City.
Reasonable 4ce
I’m a little late to this dance (as usual) but I am pleasantly amazed to see I’m not the only person who cringes at the mere mention of Helen Hunt.
She’s not merely overrated, although she is that. She might be the worst “serious actress” I’ve ever seen, and yet the critics gush over her. She was adequate — nothing more — in as Good As It Gets. In everything else she comes across as stiff and remorselessly drippy. It’s not as if she’s anything to look at either. And don’t get me started on what an insufferable sitcom Mad About You was.
gogol's wife
@NotMax:
I haven’t seen that one. I did see Altered States TWICE for some reason.
NotMax
@gogol’s wife
Visually intriguing noir science-fiction. Worth a look.
Here’s the trailer.
Also has a really, really, really spooky kid.
Larkspur
@AnnaN: Oh, yum. I want to try that rum-ginger beer-lime drink right now.
I don’t even know what makes an actor good or bad. I know who I like. I know there are lots of actors whose movies I’ll make a point of missing because I’ve come to hate the roles they keep choosing. Like I think Sandra Bullock seems nice, but most of her movies are sappy and predictable. I don’t much like Nicole Kidman, but she was great in To Die For. Reese Witherspoon can be wonderful, but continues to choose projects that are insipid. (But check her out in an early role in Freeway.) Renee Zellweger doesn’t appeal to me, nor does Sarah Jessica Parker, but again it’s not their lack of physical appeal, it’s their lame projects. Angelina Jolie doesn’t appeal to me physically, but I can’t say she’s a bad actor.
The big stars can choose their projects, so I can judge them for their bad taste, but plenty of actors sign on for a role that ends up mutating wildly. (There was a bad Bruce Dern movie filmed in my neighborhood years ago, a lot of it at a gym I used to go to. Pam Grier was in it, and she’d use the women’s locker room, all cheerful and pleasant. But by the time the movie showed up in theaters – very briefly – no more Pam Grier. They’d edited her role out completely. I expect her feelings were not hurt in the slightest.)
And if the writing and/or editing sucks, can a good actor really overcome that? Toni Collette, Judy Davis and Sarah Polley would have a fighting chance, in my opinion. Keri Russell and Claire Danes are impressive too.
Roxy
I thought Bruce Willis was great in 12 Monkeys was as was Brad Pitt and Madeline Stowe. I also felt Bruce did a great job in the 5th Element.
I have to agree about Helen Hunt.
For me under rated actresses are Julianna Margulies and Christine Baranski
Jebediah
@Roxy:
I love that movie – and yeah, he was good. I liked Milla Jovovich and Gary Oldman in it, too. It’s one of the movies that will always stop my scrolling thru the channels.
Tehanu
@Darkrose:
Had to reply. Thank you for existing! I thought I was the only one! I got halfway through the FIFTH book before I finally gave up. Let me tell you, the real Middle Ages wasn’t nearly as nasty — in fact, there’s a wonderful passage in T.H. White somewhere — might be in The Sword in the Stone — about how much better life was for the peasants then than for the vast majority of wage slaves now.
Re Charlton Heston: if people think he couldn’t act, they should see him as the Player King in Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet — he was just the best P.K. I’ve ever seen. Hate his politics, and God knows he made a lot of turkeys, but he could act when he wanted to.
JWL
Your dislike of Helen Hunt is, of course, subjective. I like her performances well enough.
So let’s talk George Hamilton.
I’ve never felt a twinge of animosity towards the performer. Rather, he was always, and simply, a cipher. In fact, a good natured, self deprecating one. Yeah, I guess I even liked the guy, in a Neil Diamond sort of way.
It wasn’t a bad movie, by any means. But the moment George Hamilton appeared in Godfather 3, the illusion was shattered for me. Coppala may as well have cast John Wayne or Paulie Schorr in the role.
Which is to say, I know what you mean about Helen Hunt.
lojasmo
@Betty Cracker:
Open bottle. Drink.
Makes the $190 i paid to have a working drainage system last night seem pretty light.
JWL
It just came to me!
Chickens & eggs in lieu of cash!
But run a tough deal.
Keep in mind, everyone loves a good chicken salad.*
*(Let’s talk $ pain. I rebuilt a house this past year. It’s fair of me to assume my electrician just bought his 3rd or 4th home on the shores of Lake Como, and by now is probably on a first name basis with George Clooney).
montanareddog
I can empathise with all the hating on Helen Hunt etc. And there are some pretty bad actors out there who inexplicably get repeat work. But there is one currently active who I hate with a passion that scares me; when he comes on, he makes my blood boil and gives me an irresistible urge to throw my footwear at the TV. His manifest lack of ability, his preening self-regard, his pout – aargh! Damien Lewis.
cleek
@Darkrose:
i just tried and it’s working for me on the most-recent Sanford/Colbert thread.
tones
Yes, The Doctor is the best, every iteration.
Martha was one of my favorites, though her looks may have biased my opinion.